Published 1938

The Cromwellian Regime

The
war having been brought to a close in1652 the Cromwellian government
prepared a vast scheme of confiscation of the lands held by Irish and
Anglo-Irish at the outbreak of the insurrection of 1641 and with this
object in view appointed an Englishman, Dr. William Petty to undertake
what is known as the Civil Survey, in 1654. The Survey records the
names of the proprietors in 1640,the denomination of the lands, number
of acres profitable and unprofitable, boundaries of parishes and
townlands, and the titles of the proprietors. The Down Survey which was
a corollary of the Civil Survey consisted of parish and barony maps,
while the Book of Distribution presented a summary of the Civil Survey
records with the addition of the names of the grantees to whom the
confiscated lands were allotted.

In
the meantime an order was issued that all proprietors of lands above
£10 in valuation, those who had taken up arms, or had not manifested a
constant good affection towards the Commonwealth or had been resident
in Irish quarters were to transplant across the Shannon to Clare and
Connaught before the 1stof May 1656, on pain of death.